Cleveland Indians outfielder Michael Brantley underwent arthroscopic shoulder surgery on his non-throwing arm earlier today, MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian confirmed on Twitter. He is expected to be out 5-6 months, which means he would miss two months of the 2016 regular season in the worst case scenario.
Brantley injured his shoulder on a diving catching against the Minnesota Twins back on September 22. An MRI toward the end of the 2015 revealed inflammation in the injured shoulder, and the Indians shut Brantley down for the final week of the season, putting him on a two-week rehab program.
At the time, it was thought that Brantley’s shoulder injury was not quite so severe and letting him rest the remained of the season was just a precaution, as the Indians were already out of the playoff picture at that point. We know now, however, that the injury was obviously much more severe.
Brantley played in only 137 games in 2015, the fewest of his career since 2011, sidelined by a back injury early in April, then this shoulder injury late.
UPDATE (1:48 p.m. EST, 11/9): Brantley will be 'game ready' in 5-6 months, which means ready to begin rehab. According to Paul Hoynes, that means we should not expect Brantley to be actually joining the team until closer to six months.